Arrival of the Grey Queen
by Dingirverse
Summary: I'm editing my first novel for re-submission to publishers. Read. Review. Enjoy. "Five years have passed since the secret magical war between contractor-mages raged, killing millions. However as it always done, the world moves on. Young Reina never knew that magic was real, but when caught in a demonic summoning, she has no choice but to believe, adapt, and survive."
1. Prologue

_I'll be uploading my first novel here chapter by chapter as I edit it again for re-submission to publishers at a higher standard. Enjoy. Review. FYI British spelling._

* * *

 **PROLOGUE**

 _ **A CITY IS BURNING DOWN**_

* * *

Orange light illuminated the edges of this thunderous night sky, as beneath this celestial turmoil was a scene straight from Hell. The city was burning down. People screamed as they tried to flee, flickering flames surrounding them, engulfing them, granting both agony and death. Bullets sounded clear through the sizzling air as companions to this horror. With every second, the body count continued to rise. Demons were among them, calling the flames!

"E-Everyone...pull back!" a panicked voice shouted, but his words and squadron were swept away by a torrent of fresh flames. The whiteness of the flames showed the sheer heat that it produced, but they were unnatural, swirling and writhing like a living thing. It was hunting, chasing and killing; burning anyone it touched to cinders. Agonised screams defiled the air as the white fire claimed evermore more victims.

Amidst all this, two men casually strolled through the crumbling, ashen wreckage. With a wave of a hand, the white inferno parted, allowing them safe passage down the middle, they were the cause of this hell. Their eyes darted about their surroundings, other senses reaching out, they were searching, hunting, yet hoping their prey would come to them. This genocide was simply a means to draw out this city's master. They had a score to settle with him; Gawain – one of the Knights of the Round Table, more commonly known as the Knights of Magistas. The Magistas were a powerful organization with bases all around the world, deeply trenched in politics, military…and magic.

As for the two men…They were an intimidating sight, their faces hidden in featureless, shield-styled masks and their bodies wrapped in grey cloaks. With a sea of flames parting before them, it was as if two demons had risen from the depths. "Where the hell are they?" the taller of the two demanded, his hair was a dark brown, almost black, and his features hidden beneath a white mask, showing only his eyes, which burned with a golden, inhuman wrath.

"Don't worry," the shorter man assured calmly. He, unlike his colleague was blonde haired, blue eyed, with his features hidden by a black mask of the same style. "They'll come alright, there's no way Gawain and the others could ignore this."

"Yes, you're right, they'll come," the white masked man eventually agreed, his voice dripping with bloodlust. "I can't wait to rip them apart." It was time for their revenge. The torture, the experimentation, the humiliation, at last it would be paid back in full. This city was owned by the Magistas, many of their workers, and all of their police and military were on their payroll, they all expendable to the masked men.

Their senses sharp and focused, the masked men could faintly hear the careful placing of near-silent footsteps, amidst the sea of rubble. They could not feel the menacing presence of the knights, or one like themselves, and yet the sounds were too well hidden to be a civilian. It seemed the city had finally decided to retaliate properly. Beneath his white mask, the man grinned viciously. The two stopped, they would not walk willingly into an ambush. "Shall I take these?" he asked quietly, so they could not hear him, as his unnatural golden eyes glowed ever brighter, like headlights from the openings in his white mask.

The man in the black mask shook his head, his blonde hair messily tumbling about. "No I've got these. I can't have you wasting all your energy now."

Hidden nearby, the gunmen waited for the two, silent as they could be, breaths held until they realised that their targets had stopped, regarding exactly where they were hidden. 'Damn it, they've spotted us!' In unison they leapt up, avoiding the lingering white flames around them. There were dozens of them; each dressed in black military uniforms; rifles or machine guns in hand, hard-eyed professionals.

"Everybody fire!" their squad leader ordered, yet nobody fired, they were somehow frozen in place, they struggled to move - at least a trigger finger would do, but no, nothing.

"What the hell is this?" one of the gunmen yelled in a blind panic.

"T-That guy's a contractor-mage too!" another screamed, eyes darting about, his face pale. The man in the black mask was surrounded by a pale blue aura, his eyes glowing with the same eerie colour.

"Sorry boys, but its suicide for you all," the black masked man said with childish glee, the aura around him flaring at his 'suggestion.' In response, the gunmen's eyes grew dull as the power took effect. Their expressions of anger and terror disappeared, replaced by a calm, emotionless exterior. Unwillingly they turned to face each other, aimed, fired, and collectively collapsed to the ground.

Just like magic, for magic it was, of a sort, the contract between a human and Heaven or Hell. In exchange for great physical, mental, and magical power, one bound their fates to the inhuman. Representatives of the forces of good and evil…At least that had been the case in the ancient histories of humanity, with many of these 'contractor-mages' being viewed as demi-gods, heroes, villains, legends, some even spawning religions through their deeds. Now however, the humans sought power for their own ends, and the angels and demons began viewing contracts as a game of sorts, who had the strongest, who killed the most from the other side, as such they were left to their own devices, with tremendous power. Magistas was one such organization that gathered these extraordinary people, as were Grey Faction, the destroyers of this city.

"Talk about disturbing," the white masked man noted as he watched the soldiers tumble to the ground, heads splattering - blood spurting, killed by their own hand, but not by their own choice. This was the black masked man's power, he could read and control other people's minds; gained from a Cherubim's contract. As for his partner, he could create flames of extreme temperatures with the ability to only harm what he wished to kill. A power gained from one of Seraphim. It was with this that they'd laid bloody waste to this city.

"And turning someone into ash is better?" the other retorted with a smirk. Stepping over the corpses, they continued on their way. They would reach the 'government' building in less than ten minutes, the knights ruled from there.

The two paused in mid step as a deep, dark aura pressed down on them; it was the killing intent of a powerful warrior. "It seems that they've decided to greet us after all."

"Sure seems that way," the white masked man agreed, eager for his revenge to begin. A mere hundred yards away, atop a broken smouldering building was a man dressed in black armour, his face hidden by a helmet and visor.

"Ghost, you fool…" Gawain whispered, recognising the white flames. In the blinking of an eye, he stood before them, tall and lethal.

'Gawain!'

'He's finally here!'

Gawain stood at over six foot in height; his body was encased entirely in a black synthetic material with streamline black armour over it. The armour was shaped to fit his body, showing his compact, muscular form. Hanging from his belt on one side was medieval style broadsword, while on the other side was a strange looking silver gun with a green vial attached to the barrel.

"So the lead actor finally emerges," the black masked man commented, smiling wryly.

"Gawain, where are the other two?" the white masked man demanded, referring to the other knights assigned here alongside Gawain. Under his visor, Gawain frowned, recognising the man's voice as well.

"So it really is you; White Ghost...Andrew, to think that you'd survived." His voice was deep and melodious; but his words lacked any real emotion. The man in the white mask sighed. Unclipping the clasps of the mask, he removed it, revealing a young man, perhaps nineteen or twenty years old; his features were handsome in a sharp hawk-like way, though some would find him intimidating.

"Yeah, I did," Andrew replied, eyes glowing brighter. "I'm here to settle my score with the Magistas, and I'm starting with you."

"Don't be stupid," Gawain stated with distain. "You should have been content that you were simply able to escape with your life, but here you are, bringing war and destruction. Do you and your masked friend believe you can overcome us?"

"Yes," Andrew declared, his body bursting into flame, he looked like a white phantom. "The two of us alone are enough to destroy everything!"

"So arrogant," noted Gawain. "Have you deluded him with words of revenge?" Gawain asked, addressing the man in the black mask, who snorted in amusement, unclipping his mask as well. He was older than Andrew by five years or so, his face was tanned and he wore a large toothy grin that contrasted with his gaze, which was bitterly cold.

"I did nothing of the sort, we just happen to want the same thing; for your organisation to disappear from this world," the blond man stated calmly, throwing his mask to the ground. "I doubt if you remember me, so I'll re-introduce myself. I'm Alex Anderson, leader of Grey Faction, a group we have made for the express purpose of destroying Magistas."

"I see," muttered Gawain, drawing the sword. "Then there's no reason to talk. I will correct the Elders, and Siegfried's mistake."

"Fine by us, I'd like to kill you before the others arrive," Alex admitted, reaching inside his grey cloak, pulling out a high calibre pistol. 'I won't lose this time!' For a brief moment they were still, silent; their muscles tense, senses sharp, weapons at the ready, their powerful auras sizzling the air around them.

"Time to die, Gawain!" Andrew roared, charging forward, a swirling orb of fire forming from his palm. Alex weaved behind Andrew, firing bullets, which Gawain deflected with the tip of his blade.

"Is that it?" Gawain asked, slashing at Andrew with dozens of fast stabs, which Andrew narrowly avoided, before blasting the knight at close range with his conjured flames. The explosion caused sent them both sprawling. However the knight's armour was designed to withstand magic and aura, and he recovered quickly. As Andrew pushed himself up, Gawain stood waiting for him, sword raised. He swung down with a helm splitting attack, trying to split Andrew's skull in two.

'Shit!'

Alex, discarding his gun, leaped between the two, if he pushed Andrew to safety, then he would have been the one cut down, so reaching his arms out, hands glowing blue. **CLANG!** Alex caught the blade with his bare hands, hardening them to the point of enduring the impact, while also making his aura vibrate to connect the smooth, near friction-less blade to make catching the blade possible.

"Incredible..." Gawain spat out, sensing what Alex had done with his aura to stop his sword, a level of aura control that few could manage.

"Andrew - now!" Alex yelled, holding the sword tight while grounding himself, as Gawain tried to pull himself away. Andrew jumped up into the air, creating a humongous fireball that blotted out the sky for a moment; he then condensed all those flames into a tiny incandescent orb, less than a centimetre wide, with the air appearing distorted around it.

"Take this!" Andrew shouted, driving it into Gawain's chest plate. Everything around them was obliterated in a torrent of flames as it exploded back into its original size and much further. Andrew had jokingly named the move; 'big bang' and it certainly lived up to the concept, something tiny and impossibly dense expanding with tremendous force and speed. Andrew excluded Alex from his flames effects, but the rest of the city vanished, buildings and people alike scattering into ash.

From the furthest edges of that inferno blasted out a smouldering shape, it was Gawain. 'What an incredible attack!' he thought, tumbling along the seared ground, unable to stop himself due to the momentum, while the buildings that could have stopped him were now gone. Eventually Gawain came to a skidding stop, and he lay there for a long time, his body hurting too much to even move. The armour which he wore had been made by the greatest minds in the worlds of magic and technology, and yet it couldn't fully protect Gawain from this. Eventually the realisation that they would be searching for him finally stirred him to move. He slowly forced himself to endure the horrendous aches and broken bones, shakily Gawain standing. Gawain then realised that most of his armour was had crumbled away, leaving only half his helmet, cracked gauntlets and vambrace, and his sword long gone. 'I can't believe he destroyed my anti-contractor armour...'

The flames that had destroyed the city fortunately hadn't reached as far as he had been flung, or he would be dead. He was about to flee when the flames vanished all at once, leaving a thick carpet of ash for many miles. Gawain cursed under his breath, he had been incapacitated for too long to escape. Andrew casually strolled towards him, completely confident and when he drew close, Andrew spoke. "I don't know what's tougher, you or your armour," he noted, creating another fireball.

"You've gotten stronger..." Gawain said softly, while mentally preparing himself for almost certain death at Andrew's hands. "But not enough to win against the Elders or Si-!" his words were cut off as three gunshots rapidly sounded. "G-Gah!" blood spewed from his mouth, Gawain staggered, turning to the source, to see Alex standing behind him, a smoking gun in hand. "You!"

"The plan worked after all," Alex smirked, aiming at Gawain's now exposed face. Gawain reached for his own pistol, but it had been destroyed. **BANG!** The knight collapsed to the ground, dead, denied a warrior's death.

"One down," Andrew laughed, biting back tears of delight as he hurried over to join Alex, he paused briefly to kick Gawain, before saying, "but I get to kill the other two here."

"Fine by me," Alex conceded, holstering his gun. "Gawain's the only one I had a personal grudge against anyways, although…" he paused to regard the miles of ashen nothingness. "You might have already gotten them with that attack."

"We'll need to check then," Andrew shrugged, though secretly pleased at the possibility, because it would mean less risk for them. As Magistas could potentially muster millions of forces against them, and no matter how strong they were, this would be neither a quick or easy campaign. "Let's go, Alex."

"I'm right behind you."

* * *

 **CHAPTER END**

* * *

 _FIVE YEARS LATER..._


	2. Chapter 1

_A/N: Chapter update. Enjoy._

 **CHAPTER ONE**

 **THREE SLICES OF LIFE**

* * *

"Professor Siegfried, it's happening again!" a lab assistant shouted. Inside the observation cell was their latest specimen; V-7 was dying. V-7 was a middle-aged man that they had dragged off the streets for experimentation. He thrashed about violently on the cell floor, with blood streaming from his ducts like tears. His skin was slowly turning an ugly grey colour, like rotting flesh, interspersed with patches of red on his face and forearms. Smoke was now spewing heavily from his ears and mouth, as though a fire was burning its way out from the inside out, and likely was.

" **Ahhhhhraaaaooouuuu!** " V-7 screamed with a mindless, agony-ridden howl.

Outside of the cell, the scientists ran about in a panic, trying to figure out a solution to prolong the subject's life. "All of you, shut your mouths, you're professionals, _experts_ , now kindly act the part!" snapped an irritated voice, thick with authority, they all turned towards the speaker; he was slightly above average height and had a warrior's build, which conflicted with his apparel as a scientist. He had black hair and bronze skin, his eyes were golden in colour, and his features had a subtle wildness to them.

"Sir, V-7 is having a violent reaction to the original's cells. His body just won't adapt, the transplanted cells and aura are rejecting him," said the lab assistant who had called for him.

"I see...that's a pity," Siegfried murmured absently, pushing past the throng of scientists and researchers. Reaching the cell, he crouched down, watching the unfortunate subject in his final moment of agony. Siegfried was calm, showing none of the panic the others had. "I had hoped that you would provide me with better results than the last five, goodbye V-7," he said quietly as the subject died, his last words garbled and unheard. Siegfried stood, turning to face one of his assistants, a petite, mousy haired woman. "How many injections did V-7 receive and remain stable after the skin graft and transfusions?" he enquired.

"Four, sir," she answered.

"That's one less than the last subject...so does the person's will-power really affect the reaction to the change?" Siegfried wondered aloud for the others benefit. All the experiments shared blood type, race, and gender with the original donor, and yet rejection and death always eventually occurred. "For our next specimen we will need someone with far greater physical and mental strength. Evans, go kidnap someone."

Young Evans, who was shuffling through a table of paperwork, looked up, startled. "Shall I go immediately?"

"Yes _now_ , and take two security personnel with you. Be back with a suitable candidate within the next four hours."

"Right, I'll be on my way," Evans replied, abandoning his paperwork with a relieved flourish and all but sprinting away to commandeer some muscle.

"Alright people, stop standing around and gaping like idiots and get back to work!" Siegfried demanded, loudly clapping his hands together for emphasis. Scrambling about, they returned to their many duties. 'Looks like we'll have to use V-1 for the primary exhibition after all, that twit won't be happy...' Siegfried thought sourly, before going back to his own work. There was no time to waste, and he couldn't use his secret experiments or methods for the exhibition, or the Elders would find out. 'How troublesome...'

* * *

"Is it just me or are all of our missions lately about stopping faux-contractors?" Andrew complained, as he relaxed comfortably on the couch in their lounge.

"They've gotten better with the process, so obviously there's going to be more of them," Alex replied, who was wearing his usual Hawaiian shirt and jean shorts. He continued typing away on his laptop, his eyes never leaving the screen. "No matter how many we kill, Magistas and their allies will just make more."

"So who's hiring us this time?" Andrew asked, not pleased to have another mission so soon, having only been back home for a few hours since his last mission.

"The NPA," Alex answered, sitting down next to him, while continuing to type away. "It seems there's another faux-contractor causing trouble in their area."

"The National Police Agency...that's in Japan, right?" Andrew asked Alex for confirmation, he received a nod in return. "So why are they asking for our help?" he continued.

"It's pretty far I'll admit, but they're running low on their own contractor-mages, so the NPA is hiring us to do the job instead."

"So what's the story?" Andrew enquired.

"Initially they were investigating a serial killer in Osaka; they were close to issuing a warrant for his arrest, when suddenly known contractor-mages started appearing among his victims. In response they sent their own contractor-mages to arrest him, however they've since vanished."

"Do you think Magistas or another group are using this guy to hunt for parts?" Andrew wondered grimly, as Magistas could graft flesh and blood from a contractor-mage to another person, and thereby duplicate that power without making a contract with an angel or demon. They were known as faux-contractors. Andrew knew of this process from bitter experience. Many who underwent the process died horribly, as the stronger the power, the more likely it was that the new host would be rejected and eaten alive by the original donor's aura.

"The bodies of those other contractor-mages were later stolen from the police morgues, so it's likely," Alex answered, turning his laptop around so that Andrew could see the screen. It showed several photos of a dark-skinned Asian teenager, some depicting him fighting. "Jinhai Leawa, Taiwanese by birth, seventeen years old, currently living in Osaka, Japan."

"That's pretty young," Andrew remarked. "So how do they want me to handle this, dead or alive?" he asked, roughly scratching the side of his face. Inwardly hoping that it didn't require him to kill another kid. It had been five years since the war with Magistas, and in that time, Andrew had burned through much of his hatred, having killed most of their elite forces, along with several cities worth of people. He knew of course that Alex could read his mind, and awaited his response.

"Fortunately for you, the NPA wants us to arrest Jinhai in order to interrogate him about the source of his powers, and then imprison him for killing their operatives. However contractor-mages and faux-contractors are not easy to lock up, as you well know."

Andrew nodded. "I understand, so they want to make use of my unique abilities, so that he can be imprisoned long term. How much are they paying us?"

"Ten million yen," Alex replied, closing his laptop. Ten million yen was worth slightly less than a million dollars by the current exchange rates.

"Talk about cheap, but I suppose I haven't a choice since you've already accepted their request," Andrew muttered irritably, however he knew that the police had limited funds in their budgets which weren't already assigned for specific purposes.

"That's the spirit," Alex mockingly acknowledged, ignoring Andrew's tone of voice. "You can start first thing tomorrow morning; I've already booked you the plane ticket."

"I guess I'll go pack then," Andrew sighed.

"Andy, don't forget to bring a tooth brush like you did last time," Alex teased as Andrew left the lounge; Alex knew how much Andrew hated having his first name abbreviated.

"Stow it, Alex."

'This is a chance to confirm if Siegfried is involved again,' Alex thought, as his mind turned to less trivial matters.

* * *

"I'm not sure I can go through with this Daigo-kun, why must we use your sister in the ritual?" Reiko asked of her husband, her voice stressed and face fatigued.

"Because if we use someone else, we can't guarantee the results, you know that. I've worked hard to keep my sister from getting close to men so she remains in the state that we need, the presence of a blood related virgin is needed for the spell. Don't forget Reiko, the summoning will not kill her. Reina is simply the catalyst we need," he tried to assure her. Daigo's voice was hoarse, yet it carried the strength of authority and deeply entrenched belief.

"I know, but still..." she protested. Reiko knew that they had to do this for their future and safety, but to use a family member as a pawn for it, just seemed so wrong.

"Look I know how you feel, I really do – But if we don't summon Incubo before Siegfried finds us, then everything's over. Let's just get it over and done with while we can," he insisted, placing a hand on Reiko's shoulder to comfort her.

"Fine, but if anything happens to Reina-chan, I'll leave you, I promise you that!" Reiko declared, staring at him, her eyes resolved.

Taken aback by her sudden words, Daigo sighed in defeat. " _Fine_ , then I have nothing to worry about, let's go." Leaving the backroom, they headed out onto the shop floor of their family owned bookstore. The shop was currently devoid of customers. Their shop consisted of two floors, with long, heavy bookcases running down in numerous columns. In some respects, it resembled a small town library. They soon found her, shelving new books at a swift pace. Natsume Reina was a tall, somewhat broad shouldered, yet slender girl, with long black hair, and faintly Eurasian features, their mother was from France. "Reina-chan, thanks for holding the fort while we were getting things sorted out back," Daigo said smoothly with a smile.

"No problem Nii-chan, I've nearly finished putting out the new stock," Reina said, smiling back as she continued with her work. Shadow Force had been one of new books that arrived, and was the newest installment in a series she particularly liked, Vampire Attack, she was looking forward to reading it on her next break.

"Good to hear, it'll get busy soon, so it's best to get these things done when we can," Reiko said, trying to keep her face stoic and failing to ignore the tight knot in her stomach, knowing what would happen next.

"Oh Reina, could you help me out the back real quick?" her brother asked casually. Reina stopped what she was doing, regarding him briefly, he didn't usually call her away mid-task. But she had no reason to be suspicious.

"Yeah, sure thing," she said, and after setting down a stack of novels, she followed him out into the stockroom. Without warning, something struck Reina heavily across the back of her head. She tumbled to the ground, her mind blank, and her eyes glazing over. Daigo crouched down beside his sister. Carefully he scooped her up in his arms. Reiko sadly regarded Reina's unconscious form.

"I've locked up the store, we won't be disturbed," she told him.

"Good, do you have the Grimoire?"

"Right here." Reiko pulled out a large, dusty book from behind a nearby stockroom shelf. It was bound in wrinkled, aged leather, and its cover was engraved with complex symbols and lines, which interconnected to form a magic circle. A duplicate circle had been painstakingly painted onto the floor of their stockroom using Daigo's blood, who had been stocking up over the last week via blood packs and storing them inside the fridge in their garage. The summoning required enough blood to be fatal, if drained all at once, that is. Thank you modern era. He gently laid Reina at the centre of the circle, being careful to avoid smearing the mostly dry blood.

"Then let's get started with the summoning ritual," Daigo declared, as light shone from his fingertips, while both the book and the blood circle began glowing with an eerie red glow.

* * *

 **CHAPTER END**


	3. Chapter 2

_A/N: The_ _ **Jinhai's Justice**_ _Arc now begins. Full comic/manga adaptation of this arc is already available on amazon, lulu, and most major online retailers, I drew the storyboard, but the comic itself was drawn by Kris Callahan, cost me about three months wages to hire her, so help me out by buying a copy on amazon, or recommending Jinhai's Justice comic (2018 version) to a friend if your skint like I am._

* * *

 **CHAPTER TWO**

 ** _BENEATH THE BLOODIED SKIES_**

* * *

Osaka, a cramped grey city of blended stone and rusting steel, while above them, the blackening skies swelled, imminent to cast down torrents. Amidst the shadowed buildings and narrow back streets hid a single man, thoroughly chilled by the cold, he was neither fleeing nor homeless, but on the trail of a serial killer. "Why is this country so damn cold?" Andrew muttered to himself, his back to an alley wall, crouched down to avoid being seen, he peeked around the corner, eyes intently focused on his target.

Jinhai Leawa, who despite being only seventeen years old possessed a fairly remarkable ability to kill others by manipulating metal, moving and controlling it as though it was a part of his own body. Jinhai was not a true contractor-mage however; as the ability belonged to a famous mercenary named Cring, who had vanished prior to Grey Faction's founding, most likely kidnapped by Magistas. Andrew had once faced Cring and had barely gotten away with his life. Jinhai didn't give the impression of being in Cring's league, but he was certainly capable of sensing the aura of contractor-mages, which they all subconsciously released, and because of this, Andrew had been forced to suppress his own aura to avoid detection. This meant he didn't get any of the physical benefits of using aura and now keenly felt the winter's chill. England had far milder winters than Japan.

For the last few nights, Andrew had followed Jinhai, and just as Alex had told him, Jinhai dedicated his nightlife to killing in the form of eradicating thugs and delinquents within the city; it didn't take long learn his routine. Jinhai would wait until 11pm or later, and then travelling by train, he would go to another neighbourhood to start fights with thugs and bullies, slaughtering them with his super human abilities.

Besides targeting lowlifes, all of Jinhai's attacks appeared random, chosen completely by chance, however, on the second night, Andrew overheard some interesting information. That Jinhai had arranged a faceoff with the largest high school gang in Osaka. It was even rumoured to have Yakuza connections; making them all the more dangerous. Andrew hoped to get a better idea of Jinhai's real fighting style by observing them. So far, he had seen little; Jinhai would normally sneak up and slice his victim's throat and then disappear back into the shadows or levitate a small piece of metal and shoot it like a bullet. But as gangs usually relied upon numbers and weapons, with any luck he could see something more impressive.

Ultimately however, Andrew was waiting to confirm any possible 'middlemen' between Jinhai and the Magistas. The NPA had also made their own preparations should any suspicious individuals approach Jinhai. Either way, he would have to act, and soon, and while Andrew didn't value the lives of the types that Jinhai killed, the NPA had lost two of their agents spying on him, and wanted Jinhai arrested as soon as possible.

Not far from Andrew's hiding place, Jinhai was waiting for the high school gang to arrive. A sudden gust of wind swept through the narrow streets. Pulling his maroon jacket tightly around himself, Andrew suppressed the urge to shiver. Winter was fast approaching. 'Why can't he have his fight in a warehouse or something?' Andrew sourly complained. 'That way I wouldn't be freezing my ass off.' His target however, despite being from a hotter country than him, had apparently adjusted to the weather in Japan over the years.

Jinhai was a few inches above average height, his features sharp, narrow, and brown eyes piercing. His hair was a glossy black and his skin ebony brown. He wore a baggy black shirt, equally baggy combat trousers and over that, he wore a brown winter coat. Andrew noted that Jinhai wore a pair of latex surgical gloves; no doubt the reason why the NPA had not found any fingerprints when they initially investigated the killings.

Jinhai began pacing in a circle, seemingly unaware that another contractor-mage was following him, and though Jinhai could not sense Andrew's presence, he kept up his guard for more mundane threats. Andrew noted that Jinhai's pace was even and light, each step flowing effortlessly to the next, his head turning smoothly in either direction, eyes darting about, surveying his surroundings, lingering on logical/potential ambush points. Oddly it seemed to be a subconscious habit, which was unusual for someone his age. 'Not bad, he's pretty good at keeping track of his surroundings' Andrew thought approvingly, before further suppressing his aura, slowing his breathing and even minimizing his movements.

 _Clang! Crash!_

A trashcan smashed into the ground, Jinhai's body stiffened, his head turning towards the source of the noise. Andrew felt his heart rate increase at the sudden noise and its proximity to him; Jinhai's opponents had arrived. They were coming from the nearby alleyway. A large predatory grin stretched its way across Jinhai's face. The footsteps continued and as they drew nearer, the sound of muffled voices joined the echoes of footsteps. Entering into a loose, casual stance, Jinhai called out to them. "Why don't you guys stop hiding, how long are you gonna keep me waiting?"

In response, a large group of school delinquents then emerged. From his hiding spot, Andrew did a quick head count of their numbers 'five...twelve...sixteen...twenty-three, that is a lot of people for dealing with one kid.' Andrew considered the situation, 'are they aware of his powers, or is this due to his reputation?'

The gang spread out, creating a rectangular formation in front of Jinhai. They were little more than kids, most of them were still in their school uniforms. The older thugs were dressed in western clothing, a mix of flashy jackets, tee shirts, and jeans. None of them looked particularly strong - brainless eyes and sneering grins. Andrew would have discounted them as being completely harmless to anyone with combat experience, if not for the array of weapons they carried; baseball bats, iron pipes, Bo-staffs. A few also carried switch knives and large carving knives, but no guns.

Jinhai showed no alarm as they brandished their weapons at him, Jinhai's lips twisted in amusement at their paltry show of force. One of the older thugs walked forward, he was broad and muscular, his physique clearly visible under his white wife-beater shirt. He had a head of dyed blond hair and in his hand; he carried a metal baseball bat with barbed wire wrapped around its length. "Are you the leader?" Jinhai enquired in bored tones, being purposely provocative.

The thug glared at him, his face twisting into a snarl. "Yeah, that's right," he replied, pushing the tip of the bat into Jinhai's face, who didn't even so as much as blink. "Sousuke Aoi; I'm the leader of Hirano high school, and you must be Jinhai 'Metal Fighter' of Tennoji high school, right?"

"Is that what they're calling me now, how ridiculous," Jinhai snorted. The name 'Metal Fighter' was a nickname Jinhai had picked up recently, mostly due to Jinhai using metal weapons in his attacks, totally lacking in imagination, but monikers given from fighting usually were.

"Heh!" Aoi mocked. "Hell of a name for a puny looking guy like you, but with all those rumours that we've been hearing about you; a wannabe assassin hunting down gangs, and on his own to boot. You've been scaring the crap outta everybody. How could I miss such a golden opportunity to show everyone that Hirano's boys are to be feared?"

"I was starting to think you and your boys weren't going to show," Jinhai noted, ignoring Aoi's words.

"And miss the chance to take you down? With you gone, I'll be able to take over the remaining gangs here in Osaka and control this area!" Aoi declared confidently, as his subordinates raised their weapons to the sky and cheered in boisterous agreement.

"Oh?" Jinhai replied, brow quirking, as his brown eyes boring into Aoi's own, "and how's killing me going to do that?"

"Don't play dumb with me, if we beat the guy who's taken down most of the city's tough guys, don't you think that'll raise our standing and influence, huh!?"

"I've heard worse reasons to kill someone," Jinhai admitted. "But do you really think..." he continued in a haughtily. "That everyone's fear of me will transfer to your group, if by some miracle you trash win?" Even as he derided them, Jinhai also sent a trickle of his aura into Aoi's metal bat, turning it into a ticking time bomb.

"Cocky, aren't you?" Aoi sneered. "Well, we've all heard about how you're some kind of weapons expert, but you're not gonna have any advantages tonight," wiggling his bat as a reminder that they were also armed.

"You guys have no idea what I can do," Jinhai warned, or rather stated, as he had no intention of avoiding conflict. "The instant you became loser-scum, you became potential prey."

"Eh?" Aoi and his gang were taken aback by his words.

"I don't know what the hell you're on, but I'm gonna crush your fucking skull!" Aoi shouted, swinging his bat down at Jinhai's head, but Jinhai quickly stepped back, avoiding the swing. Though surprised, Aoi did not hesitate and he immediately struck out again, again and again. "Stop dodging!"

"As if!" Jinhai jovially replied, avoiding every single attack by a hair's breadth. Aoi's gang stood in shock as their leader's attacks were effortlessly avoided with obvious skill.

Aoi became increasingly wild in his attacks, his breathing coming out in short gasps - shallow and uneven, he was naturally strong, but didn't train. Stubbornly he continued his assault. "Damn it, why can't I hit you?" Aoi screamed as Jinhai ducked, leaping away from the kick that followed the previous attack.

"Whoa, that guy's fast," one of the thugs muttered from amidst the group, his hands shaking at the thought of having to fight somebody competent for a change, instead of their usual easy pickings.

"All that Jinhai guy's got is speed; he isn't big enough to do shit to Aoi-san. All he can do is dodge," one of the thugs replied. The others turned to regard him. He had a very broad muscular build, and was Aoi's second in command. Noticing that he had their attention, he decided to take the initiative and assist their boss. "Now it's about time we take this guy down, this is a gang fight, not a duel!"

"Yeah what the hell are we all doin' lazing around? Surround and close in on this little fucker!"

"He can't dodge us all!" agreed another, pulling out the blade from the handle of his switch knife. Emboldened by their words, the entire group closed in. They created a ring of bodies, roughly twenty feet of space in every direction around Jinhai and Aoi, who continued their game of cat and mouse, they slowly closed in, until they could attack him on all sides.

Jinhai, noticing this, frowned as he sidestepped a kick-swing combo from Aoi. '...They're using group tactics now, I'd better stop playing.' Jinhai realised, narrowly dodging an uppercut, followed by a series of swings, tilting his body around the attacks. "It's been fun," Jinhai told Aoi, his eyes taking on a steely quality.

"I'm not gonna let you run!"

"Why would I run when you're the ones about to die?" Jinhai questioned, clicking his fingers for effect, releasing the energy he had stored into Aoi's metal bat earlier. BANG! The bat exploded like a grenade, propelling thousands of tiny metal shards into Aoi's body and those nearest to him, who then collapsed to the ground, screaming in agony, their bodies impaled, ruined.

"Argh! What...is this?" Aoi cried out, a glob of blood escaping his lips, lightning agony seared his senses. Despite thrashing about violently, Aoi tried to reach Jinhai, but it was of no use, he could see nothing but darkness before him, he soon bled to death. A few of the thugs fell back, their bodies shaking. Some were nursing minor injuries caused by the shards. Ten of these kids, hearts pounding in their chests, and their nerves breaking, turned and fled for safety. None of them had expected this to happen when they had accepted Jinhai's challenge.

"It exploded?"

"What the hell's going on?"

"He clicked his fingers and then..."

"Did he put an explosive charge on it?"

"You bastard!" screamed one of the dyed-blonde kids, his face splattered with his friend's blood. Turning to those nearest him, he shouted to them. "Who cares how he did it, all we gotta do is fucking kill him!" and pulling back his arm, he hurled his knife at Jinhai, who evaded it with a simple skip to the right. Reaching into one of his many pockets, Jinhai extracted a handful of construction nails with each hand, crossing his arms in an 'X' shape, ready to throw them. The blonde teen took a step back, realizing that in his anger, he had chucked away his weapon. "W-What are you going to do with t-those?" his voice quavered.

"These?" Jinhai asked, his voice sounding amused and sadistic. "I plan on using these to have a little fun with you, all of you." The nails held tightly in Jinhai's hands seemed to quiver as though excited, being filled with aura.

The blonde, feeling his nerve break, turned and tried to run, however before he could take even three steps, a seven inch nail pierced the back of his neck, he span as he fell, letting out a gargled scream, before landing in a quivering pile.

"What the hell?"

"He got Hiroki; you are so not leaving this place alive!"

"That bastard killed him with a nail?"

"Sick little fuck, take him down!" The group quickly regained a semblance of resolve and charged as one with a unified battle cry. Jinhai was surrounded by the enemy, no escape routes, and quickly losing space to move. Nevertheless, to a contractor-mage, or a skilled fighter, such things held little sway over the outcome.

From his hiding spot, Andrew muttered in a voice that was less than a whisper. "Idiots, a group charge is meaningless against a fighter with long range skills, you'd run if you had any sense."

Nevertheless, the charge continued. As they drew closer, Jinhai extended his arms, uncrossing them; the nails rose from his hands, hovering in the air, a faint blue energy surrounded the nails, aura. Jinhai's aura suddenly changed in the moment of attack, filled with bloodlust. "Die all of you!" The nails shot through the air; propelled by his will. Jinhai did not need to provide any initial movement or kinetic energy; his abilities were very close to telekinesis. The first wave of thugs let out a chorus of screams as they had their vital points pierced.

But one thug, faster than the others, dodged the shower of nails that came his way and closed in on Jinhai. "Take this!" he bellowed, driving his fist straight into Jinhai's cheek. Jinhai skidded back from the blow, senses reeling, and blood spewing from his mouth. But he immediately returned the favour, stabbing the teen in the throat and collapsing his oesophagus. "Gah!" The teenage thug clutched at his throat and wildly tried to throw another punch. Panicking, Jinhai quickly pulled out another handful of nails, but it was unneeded as the thug then collapsed, choking on his own blood, a step too short. Jinhai gave a sigh of relief, his face pulsing uncomfortably.

'Damn it, that guy's got a good punch,' Jinhai acknowledged irritably, ignoring the urge to hold his already swelling cheek.

Andrew continued his observation of the slaughter. 'His evasion skills aren't bad, but he's not very good at martial arts. That punch could easily have been stopped.' More screams and shouts pierced the air as Jinhai danced amongst his prey; small shards of metal shooting from his hands with deadly effect. 'He's got to be able to do more than this, but he's clearly more of a ranged fighter,' Andrew thought as he surveyed the members of the gang. Many held their crimson stained hands over their faces, others grasped at skewered limbs, quietly sobbing, others screaming. Many were also dead, their torsos and organs pierced.

Seeing that the fight was nearing its end, a satisfied grin spread across Jinhai's face, his eyes wild. Deciding to finish it right then and there, Jinhai sped up his attacks, targeting the remaining few who were still capable of movement. It was over quickly; the gang lay in pools of sickly dark blood, bodies contorted in agony in the moments of their death. Jinhai calmed down as he realized it was over and the adrenaline rush began to fade. He brushed back a stray lock of hair, wincing slightly as his fingers touched his swollen cheek. He took the time to look at the results of his actions; pools of blood, broken bodies and the looks of terror etched into their faces. Jinhai felt himself seizing up. He let out a shaky breath before muttering in a crazed whisper. "That was...the best." His face was alight with the thrill of the kill. "To think I can feel such wonderful things, thanks to them."

Andrew strained his ears, now this was getting interesting, who was Jinhai referring to? "I'll be able to do whatever I want forever, no more being the victim," Jinhai announced to himself, laughing loudly, and then more pointedly adding, "which is why I suggest you run away now, little spy," Jinhai spat out the last words.

Andrew stiffened slightly in surprise, but ready to fight if need be. "I don't know where you are little spy, but they told me I was being targeted, are you a contractor-mage or a normal human? Either way you'd best run and never come back. If I catch you, you'll die – definitely." Jinhai listened carefully, but he heard nothing. Andrew wasn't so foolish as to move and give away his location. Not that he feared Jinhai, he had no doubt he could win, but tonight was just supposed to be for reconnaissance.

Jinhai sighed; if a person was really there, they were clearly in possession of common sense. Jinhai stood still, alert. Eyes closed, he sent out his senses for a better reading of this stranger, trying to feel any abnormalities. However all he felt was the faintest hint of a person; little more than a whisper, not even enough to trace accurately, but enough to confirm that he was being watched. It couldn't be a contractor-mage, Jinhai assumed, relaxing slightly. Though still intrigued, he called out to the silence, "are you another agent sent to investigate me? I know you being here isn't a coincidence, so I'm sure I'll be seeing you again in the near future, hopefully face to face." Whoever was spying on him, they seemed to be far more capable then the people he normally dealt with. However, Jinhai wasn't foolish enough to start a fight with someone he knew nothing about, not without proper preparation anyway. Siegfried had taught him that a smart fighter stayed alive longer, plus with the warning of contractor-mages being sent after him, this spy could be the prologue to conflict, or even a trap if Jinhai pursued him now.

'At least this will provide me with some entertainment before I target the Yakuza clans,' Jinhai thought, simply walking away from the spy and impromptu battlefield.

Andrew waited silently for nearly ten minutes, until he was certain Jinhai had left the vicinity. "How the hell did he know I was here?" Andrew crept away, disappearing from sight. But not before ringing for some ambulances, he wasn't completely heartless; some of them might still be survive.

In the early hours of morning, Andrew contacted HQ to update Alex on the situation. "So how'd it go, Andy?" Alex asked, speaking loudly down the phone, his mocking voice alive with curiosity.

Andrew's brow twitched. His leader's light-hearted way of speaking always ticked him off; an irritated sigh escaped his lips. "Do you want my report or not?" Andrew questioned testily; he wanted to get to bed already.

"Of course, was there anything new?"

"Yes actually," Andrew began. "Tonight he had a prearranged fight with the last big group of thugs in Osaka. I get the feeling he's moving up the food chain for his prey."

"Oh? That's interesting to know, seems he has a proper plan then, as for the connection to the Magistas – is there anything on that topic?" Alex asked, absently examining his nails.

"I overheard something, he mentioned 'without their help' so I think so – also he knew I was watching him," Andrew added purposely as an afterthought. Alex spluttered loudly on the other end of the line.

"What? How the hell did he spot you?"

"Jinhai didn't, but he knew I would be there, he said that he had been told that someone would be targeting him," Andrew explained, slightly worried by the turn of events. "Luckily he didn't seem skilled enough to tell whether I was a contractor-mage or not."

"I don't like the sound of that; but it does confirm that he has an active middleman supplying information from Magistas, but if they know about us, we might have a possible information leak."

"Yeah, it's possible," Andrew agreed. "But they could have just as easily caught me on camera at the airport or hacked any other security feed."

"That's true, I suppose, but I'll be checking our systems just to be safe," Alex replied, scratching at his stubble. "But Jinhai might have been lying to confuse you, to hide his actual sensory ability, when you capture him, don't let your guard down."

"I...well, that's possible, but we'll never get anything done with _maybe_ , so how should I proceed?"

Alex was silent for a moment. "Go to the final step of the plan, we'll interrogate Jinhai after you capture him. If the Magistas are keeping a close watch on him, then they may get involved to stop you, which will be a good chance for us to get them as well."

"Understood, I'll call you back as soon as I'm finished."

"Alright then, I will arrange things with the NPA, they'll contact you for a time and a place, good night."

"Yeah, goodnight," Andrew turned off his cell phone. With a sigh, he realised how late it was. Stripping off his clothes, he clambered beneath the sheets. Eyes heavy and muscles aching, Andrew drifted off to sleep.

Meanwhile Alex, on the other side of the world was busy, his fingers dancing across several keyboards, making preparations for tomorrow, so that NPA had some muscle ready to make sure nobody interfered in Jinhai's capture, he would also hack the cities cameras to pick up on any Magistas members in Grey Faction's database, and feed the info back to NPA's operatives. "Let's see if Magistas is ready for the Reaper," Alex declared confidently, the computer's light reflecting menacingly off his glasses. It was time to remind the Magistas who was the top strategist in the world.

* * *

 _CHAPTER END_


	4. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER THREE**

 **METAL FIGHTER'S ORIGINS**

Two years ago, Jinhai was an unfortunate person. He stood out from the Japanese due to his dark skin and thick accent. This country was not used to foreigners, and he was frequently bullied as a result. When Jinhai first fought back and won, he'd believed that everything would be okay, that he could fight them all off. Sadly, reality is not so kind. Bullies are vermin, what they cannot beat with strength; they beat with numbers; like little piranhas nibbling away at a vast ox. He even went as far as to learn martial arts, but they always overwhelmed him with large numbers, some even using weapons. Almost every day he would drag himself home, limping pathetically, beaten and bloody. On one such night, it happened, the night he'd met them for the first time, the night that changed everything.

There were two of them, the man - a westerner; he had incredible presence about him, like a god or demon, barely contained within the shape of a man in the garb of a scientist. Accompanying him was a beautiful woman, wearing a black and purple martial arts Gi, her arms covered by chain mail and bracers; her presence akin to a sword against his throat. Immediately Jinhai was wary, these two were dangerous.

"You seem to be having a lot of trouble, don't you?" the man noted with a thin smile. "You train and fight, but they still beat you down each time. But your futile determination has intrigued me. If you're interested, I can show you how to become something more." Jinhai reached for the knife in his pocket. "You can become a being where numbers are meaningless, where there's no difference between one and a thousand opponents," Jinhai relaxed his grip on the knife upon hearing this.

The man's words were enticing and Jinhai was desperate, but he didn't readily fall for the stranger's nonsense. "How the hell can you do that?" Jinhai demanded. "Who are you?"

The man laughed. "How rude of me, my name's Siegfried. I am a researcher for a group that creates super-humans. I want you to become a test subject for it." He reached into his coat pulling out a long syringe; it contained a thick red liquid, which looked like blood. "This substance when injected into a human repeatedly over a period of time, forces a change in that person's body, granting them a unique power."

"That's bullshit!" Jinhai dismissed angrily, taking a step back from this madman. "Like I'd let someone stick me with a needle."

"You don't believe me?" Siegfried pondered with false disbelief, he seemed to be enjoying this. "Then I'll give you a demonstration...Melinda!" The woman stepped forward with military grace. "This is Melinda, an associate of mine. She already possesses one of these unique powers. Go on; attack her, see with your own eyes how she has broken the limits of normality."

Jinhai frowned at the man's words. Looking into Melinda's eyes, Jinhai felt a sinking feeling in his gut. This woman was incredibly strong, that much was obvious. "Are you blind? I'm all messed up. Did you really think I'd believe you if I lost to her?"

Hearing Jinhai's words, Siegfried's smile widened further, pleased by the boy's perception. "So you can tell that much, then I shall show you in another way. Boy, don't lose sight of her." With a morbid sense of curiosity, Jinhai decided to stay and see what this strange person was planning. He watched Melinda; she wasn't moving, not at all. Then something cold pressed up against his throat, impossible, he hadn't even blinked!

"You're dead," Melinda stoically stated, emphasising her victory by pressing the kunai even harder against Jinhai's throat, but not enough to draw his blood.

Jinhai was frozen in place, this wasn't some kind of high speed...This woman was still standing beside the smirking foreigner, a cruel smile now showing on her face. Jinhai awkwardly turned his head to see if it really was Melinda behind him. Then the blade's sharp edge bit into his neck, drawing a thin trickle of blood. His eyes widened, it was really her, the exact same woman!

Strangely the Melinda holding him suddenly vanished into motes of light. With the sudden lack of support, Jinhai fell to his knees. Breathing heavily, he felt a stinging pain. Touching his throat, he held up his palm to see a few drops of blood. "What is this?" he gasped out, mind racing at the impossibility before him.

"The future," Siegfried asserted confidently. "We are here to guide humanity to greater individual heights." He then gestured to his companion. "Take Melinda for instance, she is able to manipulate the minds of those around her. She invaded your mind and showed you an illusion."

"Illusion?" he muttered in a stunned whisper. "But I felt it, what about the blood?" Jinhai demanded, getting to his feet and presenting his bloody palm. He was frightened, though he wouldn't admit it. Who were these people, and was there any truth to their words? Could he become powerful enough so that he would never have to fear violence and bullying again?

"She possesses near absolute control over all of a person's senses." Siegfried explained, "…and that includes touch." Jinhai's hands were shaking in excitement "...and what blood were you talking about?"

Jinhai stared at his hand in disbelief, for the blood was gone. He felt his neck and there was no wound. "Y-You'll give me this power?" he asked, stunned.

"No, I have a much more suitable power for you," Siegfried replied, walking closer to Jinhai. "I will give you the ability of the contractor-mage Cring, which is the power to control all the metal around you. In a modern world where almost everything is made from metal, I daresay you can see its uses."

"Control all metal?" Jinhai murmured. Just like that villain from that American TV show, X something...

Siegfried gave him the syringe, placing it carefully into Jinhai's hands. "I'll leave the decision to you, if you want power, inject yourself with this, and when you do, contact me with this; it only has my number on it." He handed Jinhai a small black spherical phone. "If you decide not to, get rid of the syringe's contents and smash the communicator, there's no time limit, think it over." Siegfried smiled warmly, before he and Melinda walked away.

"This has got to be a dream, or have I fallen into some Manga or something?" Jinhai muttered.

"This is reality," Siegfried called back, and at in that moment, the air around them seemed to warp and between the blinking of an eye, they vanished.

The next four days became a blur of jumbled images as he thought on this new madness. If Jinhai had not seen it with his own eyes, he would never have believed it, and now it felt as though there was a voice in the back of his head egging him to use the syringe. On the fourth day, Jinhai was jumped by a gang from Hirano high school. Three tackled him from behind, pinning him down before he had a chance to fight back. Another then proceeded to brutally stamp on Jinhai's head until he passed out.

Hours later, face swollen, bloodied, and bruised, Jinhai awoke, and painfully stumbled back home. He saw the occasional look of pity, but nobody dared to help him, a Gaijin like him. When he finally got back to his family's apartment, he had to deal with his parents. They'd both been shocked by his bloodied, battered state and questioned him incessantly, as if they could do anything for him but get the first aid kit.

By the time Jinhai had finally gotten past them, cleaned up and returned to his room, his mind was set. Opening his wardrobe, he reached into the back and pulled out the syringe and communicator that Siegfried had given him. "Why not, what have I got to lose at this point?" Sitting down on his bed with a wince, Jinhai removed the protective cover, and carefully inserted the bevel _(needle)_ into his arm, and pushed down on the plunger. He bit his lip as the red liquid entered his bloodstream. It burned, and his chest began pounding fiercely, like how he imagined a heart attack to feel, and before he had time to regret his decision, Jinhai blacked out.

Waking up groggy and weak-kneed, Jinhai moved about in a daze until he finally recalled Siegfried's words. 'I must have been mad.' Laughing deliriously, Jinhai continued stumbling about his home until clarity gradually returned. A week later, Jinhai finally made the decision to call Siegfried. After his parents had left for work, Siegfried turned up at his door. He had come alone this time with another syringe containing the same red substance. After injecting himself again, Siegfried then explained to Jinhai how humans could gain supernatural powers through making a contract with and angel or demon. However to be chosen was a truly rare honour, those that were became the heroes, villains, legends, and demi-gods of the ancient, superstitious world.

But why should the glorious, inhuman power come to so few each generation? The Magistas thought so, and sought to duplicate these powers using science, which in the last century and onwards had seen rapid improvement, and after several lifetimes, their scientists found a way to give power to the masses, or at least them. However it required a sacrifice. They would graft flesh and inject blood taken from a contractor-mage, and along with a long treatment of unique chemicals and medications, they would forcefully adapt the body to produce aura. This aura would then react to donated flesh and blood and draw out the residual power within. Then over time and with practice, the 'faux-contractor' would be able to use that power.

Jinhai took the injections repeatedly. Then after three weeks, he found himself 'aware' of the metal around him, as if it was a living being, almost an extension of him. Soon he was able to move and manipulate the shape and density of metal, but only on a very small scale. Siegfried coached Jinhai on the basics for a time, and he quickly gained new strength as his capacity to contain, build, and manipulate aura grew. His desire to leave his weak bullied self behind drove Jinhai forward at a remarkable pace.

When Siegfried deemed his student competent, Jinhai finally got to enact his revenge. His first victims were the three ringleaders who had tormented him throughout middle school and high school. Their screams, their begging for mercy was an electric ecstasy. "I-I'm free! I'm finally free!" Jinhai declared to the sky when it was over, laughing like a lunatic.

Siegfried watched the slaughter with a satisfied smile. Everything was going according to his plan. Jinhai was an important pawn; in years to come he would be counting on Jinhai to help fulfil his own objectives. Not that Jinhai knew any of this, no, he was simply a beaten down dog with its leash finally cut, now free to maul and tear into flesh. The city of Osaka was soon awash with brutal murders and assaults, focused entirely of teen gangs, thugs, and school bullies. While his actions were both justified and horrendous, Jinhai was sure that the other kids were rooting for him, as their bullies disappeared one by one. Of course he couldn't tell anyone that he was the cause, however the satisfaction of cleansing society a little at a time was reward enough for Jinhai. In mere weeks, everyone who had bullied and beaten him was gone from this world.

He felt a wonderful thrill at being released from that hell, there was no more cruel words, no pranks or beatings, and day to day life became more than mere drudgery. Jinhai went to school without fear, without bullies hanging around, therefore his classmates were willing to interact with him. He was able to focus on his school work, and actually get to rest and eat during breaks. Slowly but surely, Jinhai regained the confidence that high school had stripped from him. However he still wanted to use his power, he had helped himself and whoever else had been tormenting by killing that scum. Why should he limit himself to punishing just those who had hurt him? There were so many evil people in this world. He could find meaning in these actions and finally become someone he wanted to be, he could become stronger, have both normalcy, and 'this.' It was then that Jinhai the 'Metal fighter' was born.

From then on, Jinhai crippled, he tortured, and he killed. Almost every night he would go out to track down thugs and bullies and make them victims. He quickly gained combat experience, and used his powers in more creative and impressive ways, but it became too easy, too quickly. Not long after, Jinhai decided to go after the villains of Japan, the criminal organisations, such as the Yakuza. This was rather more dangerous, so he would need to make more preparations. However this plan was put on hold by Siegfried, when Jinhai received a call from him on the odd rounded communicator. He scrambled to dig it out, and hurriedly answered it.

"Hello Jinhai-kun, it's been a while," Siegfried greeted him; however Jinhai noticed that the man's voice sounded strained.

"Yeah it has, how are you, are you back in Japan?" Jinhai asked in a hurry, happy to speak with the man who had given him a new lease on life.

"I'm managing," Siegfried replied. "But I've had a bit of trouble trying to find something I need for my research; sadly it's been taking longer than I'd like to locate it. However that is not what I'm calling you about. My spies have informed me that the NPA is aware of your little crusade, and what you are, so they have hired a contractor-mage to capture you, Jinhai-kun."

"Arrest me… So those guys from before were sent by the police?" Jinhai asked, recalling the weak contractor-mages who had attacked him once. He had beaten them easily and handed their bodies over to Siegfried to create more faux-contractors like himself.

"Indeed, they were sent by the NPA," Siegfried confirmed. "But this time, the situation is serious. Apparently the NPA has hired a contractor-mage from Grey Faction. I don't know which agent they'll send yet, but they're all monsters." Siegfried sounded worried, and a little knot of fear twisted in Jinhai's gut. He stubbornly suppressed it, superhuman beings like him were not supposed to feel fear.

"Grey Faction? What's so special about them?" Jinhai inquired, the other contractor-mages were nothing special. Siegfried sighed upon hearing Jinhai's words. He was certain he had warned Jinhai about them, a small group of elites that had almost destroyed the vast forces of the Magistas in a few short years. Both groups were still nursing their wounds, but it was clear the Magistas had lost the most. Almost all their contractor-mages and all of their military bases besides Headquarters had been lost to them. Magistas was increasingly forced to rely upon capturing independent or rival contractor-mages to mass produce faux-contractors; however their power almost never exceeded the original. Then too, these kidnappings often brought violent reprisals from their allies.

"They are more than what you can handle right now Jinhai-kun," Siegfried insisted over the phone. "You have to be cautious, especially if they send White Ghost after you." Siegfried silently recalled that fearsome individual and the destructive power that he wielded.

"White Ghost, is that a nickname?"

"Yes, just as the thugs call you the Metal Fighter, White Ghost is the codename he is known by. But listen to me Jinhai, if the intelligence I received is true, then you are in a lot of danger. I want you to leave as soon as possible, and no hunting criminals, is that understood?" Siegfried ordered. If Jinhai was killed it would be a massive setback, trying that 'experiment' with the original's flames was too much of a risk.

"Leave…you mean run away?" Jinhai muttered angrily, he wouldn't let himself be pushed around again. "I doubt this Grey Faction is that big of a deal, and even if they are, there's no way I'm running away."

"They are," Siegfried affirmed, before sighing in defeat. "I'll try to get there as soon as I can, but in the meantime be careful." The foolish boy was too confident. If Jinhai wouldn't run, then he would have to spirit Jinhai away by force if need be.

"Alright, don't worry; I'll be careful, jeez! I've gotta go, bye." Jinhai abruptly ended the call when his father knocked on the door. "What?" he angrily demanded, sounding like any other petulant teenager.

In the days that followed, Jinhai discovered that Siegfried's fears were indeed correct; a contractor-mage was stalking him. Jinhai caught the occasional glimpse of a man in a red jacket, but he was very good at concealing himself, and so far had avoided a confrontation. The man had even been watching Jinhai when he'd slaughtered the Hirano gang. But despite the faint flicker of doubt and fear Jinhai felt, he was also excited at the chance to test his powers against a stronger contractor-mage, to reaffirm his superiority, that he was no longer the weak, belittled victim.

Jinhai would show Siegfried that he was capable enough to handle this Grey Faction and the NPA, and his saviour would see how wrong he was. 'There was no way I'm going to lose!' That being said, Jinhai still made an extra effort in preparing his throwing weapons and homemade explosives. Jinhai had discovered that by infusing his energy and compressing it inside a metal object, and then releasing that energy all at once, it acted like a grenade, scattering razor sharp shards in every direction. Aoi's gang had seen its effectiveness first hand when he had turned their bats, knives, and makeshift weapons into explosives.

Once he had finished going over his inventory, Jinhai hid them inside his clothing, all of which had extra pockets, in the case of the inner pockets, he had taken the trouble to sew them in himself. Jinhai knew that he needed to be prepared or his life could be in danger. Siegfried obviously took these people seriously, and when it happened, Jinhai intended to be fully equipped. For Jinhai's metal manipulation, while powerful, it had weaknesses. He couldn't create from nothing as many contractor-mages could; he needed raw materials to work with. Without metal in his surroundings, he became significantly weaker. Luckily the city he lived in, Osaka, was a dense metal jungle, it was the perfect battleground for him. "Well, that's me done for tonight." Taking a break from his usual night time killings, Jinhai decided to rest up for the battle to come.

"According to the reports, Ata usually comes through this route several times a week as a tour guide. So we'll use this ridge to hide our approach as we ambush him from above and the side." A mechanical voice ordered the group, his distorted unnaturally due to the visor and helmet he wore, the rest of his physique was covered by matching black streamline armour, teeming with 'unknown' technology to aid in the hunt of their current prey.

"Even with this equipment, our powers, and the element of surprise, are we going to be a match for him?" asked one of his group, who were like-wise knightly armoured. "You've heard what the Elders and Siegfried said about this geezer – he's the strongest elemental type contractor-mage in the world."

"You really need to have more confidence in yourself," noted a third imitation knight, who was higher up the rocky terrain, surveying the surroundings. "We're all as strong as an S-rank. No matter how strong Ata is; he's only one man. We'll definitely get him."

"Yeah, I guess," laughed the second knight. "But you know what I'm like, I can't help but worry."

"The reputation of the 'Lightning God' bothers you that much?"

"Yeah..."

"It's a bullshit alias, compared to our Seraph powers; he's nothing but a worm!" the first knight declared with ignorant vigour, finally they were able to test their powers in real combat. It was here within this vast skeletal landscape that these free would do battle with Abdalla Ata, a former elite of the Sun Battalion. The hidden fangs of the Magistas were drawing ever closer. Abdalla was not their only target.

"Hmm...Morning already?" a sleep addled voice muttered from beneath their sheets. Groggily Jinhai regarded his surroundings, wincing as the light broke between the curtains. Swearing under his breath, knowing it was morning; Jinhai left the warmth of his bed behind him, casting off the shackles of sleep. After a cold shower, and now feeling somewhat more fresh and alert, Jinhai did a quick inventory of all his metal scraps and carefully stored them within his clothing for the day ahead. Satisfied that he was fully equipped, Jinhai headed to the kitchen.

Jinhai spotted his father as he entered the kitchen; hunched over the table, his eyes bloodshot, bagged, and tired. Jinhai's eyes narrowed with distaste upon seeing the wretch of a man who had sired him. His father was average in height, but years of stress had worn away his stature until he was as skinny as a rail and as intimidating as mouse. His chin was protrusive, and skin heavily lined with wrinkles, he wore a crumpled, food-pitted brown suit. Currently his father was nursing a mug of black coffee, hoping the caffeine would drag him through another day. His father was the pitiful sort that bullies would love, weak and cowardly, it was little wonder that Jinhai didn't feel he could rely on his father prior to his powers.

Ignoring the passing urge to hit his father, Jinhai simply strode past him, going to the other side of the kitchen without exchanging a single word. Stopping in front of the nearest cupboard Jinhai took out a pot of instant ramen, not in the mood to bother cooking anything proper. After waiting impatiently for a few minutes for the ramen to cook, he returned to the table, lightly plopping down in the chair opposite his father. Grabbing two chopsticks from the centre of the table, he gathered some noodles between them, lifting them up to his lips, pausing just briefly to spare a grunt as a greeting.

His father, lost in his own thoughts, was startled by the noise and hastily looked up. Though obviously exhausted, his face lit up as he noticed his son sitting there, a complete contrast to how his son regarded him. "Ohiyo son, sleep well?" he asked warmly, taking another sip of his coffee. Bitter.

"Tough night at work, Otou-san?" Jinhai asked between mouthfuls, the aged man let out a loud sigh.

"If only it was that," he replied, giving his son a thin lipped smile, a meagre mask to his mood, which dwindled at the thought of the previous night.

"So what happened? You look like shit." Jinhai asked, completely lacking tact.

Jinhai's father regarded his son's penetrating gaze, realising that Jinhai wouldn't let him change the subject. He decided to tell his son, though he knew Jinhai wouldn't like it. Taking a deep breath he began. "I had to go to a meeting last night..." Immediately Jinhai felt his spirits drop; he knew exactly what his father had been doing at this 'meeting.' "I had to see your mother and that leech of a lawyer to finalise the divorce."

Jinhai's eyes hardened, his hands forming fists, causing his chopsticks to break in two with an audible 'snap.' The sound startled his father, head snapping up to meet his son's gaze. He was taken aback by the anger that showed in his son's eyes - intense, white-hot fury.

"That woman," Jinhai breathed out aggressively, emphasizing his words for effect. "Was **not** my Okaa-san, she was merely your 'second wife.' Don't go calling her my mother, seeing as you ruined everything just as we were starting to get on." The words spilled angrily from his lips, while his father; taking another sip of his coffee, regarded his son sadly.

"You never forgave me and your mother Yumi, did you, Jinhai-kun?" His father's voice wavering, he couldn't stand seeing his son with so much hate inside of him.

"No." Jinhai immediately responded, putting an instant end to the conversation. Not wishing to be in his father's company any longer, he quickly scoffed down the remainder of his breakfast. Jumping to his feet, Jinhai grabbed his jacket, muttering a brief goodbye and headed for the door.

His father glanced at the time, '9:04am.' Noticing his son's lack of a uniform, he hesitantly enquired, "What about school?"

"Who cares about that shitty place?" Jinhai snapped, storming off. His father sighed loudly, closing his eyes and laying his head on the table. Moments later he heard the front door being heaved open and slamming shut with a mighty crash. 'I've really messed things up, haven't I, son?' he thought regretfully.

Jinhai stormed out of the apartment, furious. His swift yet heavy step echoed loudly with each impassioned stamp upon the concrete. "Stupid bastard, having to bring that up, it's bad enough..." he muttered while going down the stairs linked to street level. "...That he ruined things with mother, then he gets divorced to his second wife... just as I was starting to get used to having Himeiko-san around." His face twisted with anger, people walking by recoiled from his face; a mask of fury. Jinhai was oblivious to the looks. He might be a killer, but that had been born from a bullied, beaten and depressed teenager. Even possessing great magical power, those emotional wounds didn't simply vanish or fade as some psychologists would have you believe. You had to live with the pain and overcome it, but gaining magic as he did; he possessed a much easy way of dealing with his pain, though certainly not a healthy alternative.

Jinhai's thoughts occupied by angry memories, he failed to notice, fast approaching him was a burly red haired teenager – lean, cocky faced, with a certain strut to his step. His hair was gelled and slicked back, the dye he used was gaudy and obvious. He wore a black high school uniform, black jacket and trousers with a gold trim at its edges. The redhead noticed Jinhai approaching, however he expected Jinhai to step aside as his peers did. Passing each other, their shoulders knocked, causing him to stumble. Jinhai, preoccupied with his own thoughts, scarcely noticed the light collision and continued on his way. The redhead however was not used to being ignored. His fist clenched tight, he spun around, facing Jinhai, who did not realise the affront he had caused. "Watch where the hell ya going, loser!"

Jinhai paused in mid step, startled out of his thoughts. So somebody wanted to play tough guy with him? A large predatory grin forming on his face as the redhead called out to him. Well at least he could vent his anger from earlier. Still not acknowledging the redhead, Jinhai reached into one of his front pockets, smoothly drawing out a rusted triangular piece of scrap metal. Jinhai infused the tiniest amount of his aura into the metal, it changed colour, becoming silvery, smooth and above all else – sharp.

Hearing no response the redhead hurried forward, reaching out, he roughly grabbed Jinhai by the shoulder, and yanked him back a step. "You'd better apologize to me, and make it a good one, unless you want your head smashed in." Shrugging off his hand, Jinhai turned to face him, his eyes burning into the redhead's own. Sadly not all humans have the sense to know that they're out of their depth, and though taken aback by the intensity of Jinhai's stare, he wasn't intimidated. "No apology huh? Your loss," he immediately lashed out with a jab.

"Loser," Jinhai muttered, ducking under the punch. The redhead then screamed in agony as Jinhai stabbed him through the hand, the spurting blood staining the pavement beneath them. More blood gushed out as Jinhai pulled it out with a sharp twist, widening the hole and creating a crimson glove, he stared at his hand in disbelief, collapsing to his knees sobbing.

"Not so much fun when the trash fights back, is it?" laughed Jinhai, his mood already much improved. Kicking him onto his back, Jinhai strolled away with a smile. Several passers-by who had witnessed what happened hastened to stem the bleeding. Jinhai wasn't worried about being reported. As to him this was a cowardly city, its pride and backbone long since lost from common people due to political corruption and crime, even the kids running around like wannabe Yakuza. Regardless, it wasn't likely he would ever be staring down the barrel of a cop's gun, and even if that happened, bullets were useless against him.

Whilst this was taking place, Jinhai was being observed from a distance via the aid of binoculars. Atop a four-story building, a pair of blue-grey eyes watched their prey. Leaning against a balcony rail, Andrew watched his target move further away. "Temper, temper..." he gently chided.

A little while later Jinhai paid a trip to his local convenience store, slowly moving down the aisles, manoeuvring around the other customers by habit while looking for his favourite snacks and soda. Occasionally he would look about for other students from his school, as they had taken to informing the teachers when he skipped lessons. When he missed them due to being beaten to a bloody pulp, nobody cared. But now that no longer happened to him, all of a sudden his attendance mystically mattered to the school. Poxy hypocrites.

From the corner of his eye, Jinhai spotted two students approaching, heading down the aisle, wearing his school's uniform. 'Ah shit!' he cursed, Jinhai turned his back to them in the hopes they wouldn't notice him. As over the last few weeks rumours had spread into the school that he'd been getting into fights and winning, not that the gossips knew the truth. Unfortunately a survivor from one of his bloody vendettas had spread the news and many had begun to openly avoid him and downright fear him. Jinhai didn't like that; only the trash of this world needed to fear him.

However luck wasn't his side today, as these words reached his ears. "Isn't that Leawa-kun?" announced the schoolgirl, a short girl with dyed blond hair, dark brown eyes and an athletic build.

"Hmm you mean our old Kohai from the Aikido club?" asked her friend; a scrawny teenager with narrow features and a bowl haircut. He turned to confirm his friend's exclamation with his own eyes. There were differences certainly, particularly in the way he held himself, tall and confident; quite different from before. "I think it might be...Jin-chan, is that you skulking about over there?" Jinhai stiffened in surprise at being addressed with the feminine suffix 'chan.'

Jinhai was genuinely caught off guard; only a handful of people had ever called him that, his mother being one of them, however this voice was male, and a young one to boot. The only man who'd called him that was an odd hyperactive Senpai. He'd helped Jinhai during his time at the Aikido club, when he had first begun learning how to defend himself from all the thugs that bullied him. 'Oh god, not him!' Jinhai thought, not wanting to meet them with his emotions still chaotic from earlier. Glancing over his shoulder, he recognised them both. The one who had called out to him was named Akizen Toushi and the girl standing next to him was called Yun Hinowa.

They had helped him in the club, and even dragged him along to social events. He hadn't seen them since he'd returned from training with Siegfried. Jinhai had been far too absorbed in his goals and his battles which had stained the streets red. Despite that, Jinhai was disappointed in himself that he hadn't recognised them immediately. Jinhai approached the two, latching a friendly smile onto his cheeks, feigning surprise. "Akizen-senpai, it's been awhile, hasn't it?"

Toushi's face lit up with a smile. Jinhai had remembered him after all, though they hadn't seen each other since Jinhai had quit the club all of a sudden, declaring that he no longer needed it. That had been almost a year ago. "It's been ages, hasn't it? I haven't seen even a peek of you since you left the dojo." Toushi replied, and despite his friendly manner, Jinhai noted a faint undertone of disappointment; they hadn't parted on the best of terms after all.

"Yeah, long time no see, how have you been?" Jinhai asked, continuing the pointless exchange called a conversation. He was a different man now; he no longer held any love for these people, he had his calling, but his senpai were among the few who had never tried to harass or harm him, so he would make the effort to be polite.

"I can't really complain for much, except for the graduation exams of course, being in my final year of high school isn't as much fun as I thought it would be."

"I see..." Jinhai quietly replied.

"So what about you, Jinhai?" Toushi enquired. "Didn't the second year exams begin last week? Us third years got the morning off school so you guys wouldn't be disturbed...so how did it go?" Toushi continued, his voice gaining a serious note to it. Inwardly Jinhai sighed. 'So he did want to talk about me avoiding school, why am I not surprised.' Now he understood why Toushi had come to talk to him after all this time. "Well..." Jinhai began awkwardly, trying to piece together something plausible, before a thought struck him like a physical blow. "You see, my father's having another divorce..." he began, planning to use that excuse as a reason for bunking off school, and then build his lie from there.

However a cry of, "Oh you poor thing!" interrupted him, as Yun impulsively rushed forward to embrace Jinhai.

"Yun-senpai, nice to see you, finally joining the conversation?" he asked the pretty girl, grinning cheekily.

"Now, now, enough of that!" Yun admonished sternly, although the small grin on her face ruined the image of sternness. "So...your father is breaking up with his wife?" she asked hesitantly.

"...Well actually it's the other way around." Jinhai replied, absently scratching the back of his head. "I guess my father's not too good when it comes to keeping a woman happy," his voice held a hint of genuine sadness to it.

"Is that why you haven't been coming to school?" Yun asked. "We've been worried about you."

Toushi, who stood behind her, nodded in agreement. "Yeah that's right!" he exclaimed, much louder than intended and startling a few fellow customers.

"Even if though you've quit our club, you're still our kouhai and friend, how could we not worry?" said Yun softly with a kindness that Jinhai could only associate with her. "Especially..." she continued, a little hesitantly, "With all these rumours saying that you've being getting into fights with gangs."

'Ah, so that's what they wanted to talk about,' Jinhai realised.

Toushi chose that moment to impishly add to the conversation. "Not that I could imagine our hopeless, bullied underclassman doing something so scary." He said, clapping Jinhai lightly on the shoulder, laughing. Not noticing how Jinhai's shoulder stiffened at the contact, supressing the urge to lash out, a common reflex for active fighters and soldiers.

"…Yeah." Jinhai agreed, feeling awkward, unsure of how to reply, avoiding school and his only two friends in order to hunt and kill bullies and thugs. Doing little else besides plotting, preparing equipment, and fighting had left him feeling 'apart' from normal people, along with normal conversation. As most of his verbal exchanges had been with his enemies, brief and filled with mutual hate. Jinhai was surprised just how out of touch he was becoming with reality since obtaining his powers. But then could contractor-mages like him fit in with humans anyway? Jinhai didn't know, and he didn't want to think about it.

"So Jin-chan," Toushi prompted with a subtle narrowing of his eyes. "With that outfit I'd say it's safe to assume you're not going to school today?" and thereby disrupting Jinhai from his thoughts.

"Hmm?"

"Well I don't see your school uniform," Toushi prompted, gesturing to Jinhai's clothing.

"Yeah, there's something I need to take care of, I have someone important to meet, so I can't go today."

"Is it something to do with the divorce?" Yun tentatively enquired.

"No," Jinhai replied, smirking slightly at how far from the truth her guess was.

"Off to fool around with some pretty girl?" Yun quipped, winking suggestively, making him blush. Jinhai considered blurting out that it was a guy he was meeting or rather hunting. But that would have elicited further misunderstandings and teasing from a romantic like Yun.

Jinhai made a show of checking the time before announcing, "I'm gonna be late, it was great talking to you two, if I have time maybe I'll pop into the club's dojo – later!" Jinhai hurried off, almost forgetting his basket as he fled, leaving Toushi and Yun a little bewildered. They watched him leave, before carrying on with their own shopping.

Unknown to them, another individual had watched Jinhai leave, a giant of a man standing in line to buy his groceries. 'That's surprising,' he thought, not expecting the serial killer to have _ordinary_ friends, most who gained power became isolated with their superiority. 'It's a good thing this mission doesn't require his death then.'

"Umm...excuse me sir," said the cashier. "Your items please," gesturing to the man's basket. Andrew laughed, embarrassed.

"Yes of course."

* * *

 _ **CHAPTER END**_


End file.
